Family affair as Clun Castle is recommissioned at Tyseley

THE formal rededication of BR(W) ‘Castle’ No. 7029 Clun Castle at Tyseley on October 28 was very much a family affair, as generations of both the Whitehouse and Meanley families gathered to welcome the Collett 4-6-0 back into traffic.

Swindon superpower at the Tyseley Open Day on October 29 as a resplendent No. 7029 Clun Castle leads classmate No. 5045 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe and ‘Hall’ No. 4965 Rood Ashton Hall along the demonstration line. ROBERT FALCONER

The term ‘iconic’ is often overused in preservation parlance, but No. 7029 is a locomotive worthy of such an accolade.

Proof, if it was needed, could be found around the surviving 84E turntable shortly after 11.00 as the immaculate loco was driven off shed.

Emily and Tilly Meanley, the daughters of Tyseley’s works manager Alastair Meanley, unveil the Clun Castle nameplates on October 28. GARY BOYD-HOPE

As it rolled onto the turntable, surrounded by the smell of fresh paint, the gathered crowd of VIPs and invited guests erupted into cheers and applause, with even a few tears of pure appreciation being seen rolling down some cheeks.

With a Union Flag covering the nameplate, Tyseley’s chairman Michael Whitehouse took to the microphone to open the proceedings as No. 7029 simmered behind.

He opened by paying homage to his late father, Patrick (known to many simply as PBW), without whom ‘Clun’ would not have been preserved, and explained how the modern Tyseley set-up, and all of its accomplishments, would not exist were it not for No. 7029.

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